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Claborn double winner at Mt. Lawn again

August 13, 2008 - Not since the days of Mt. Lawn Speedway Hall of Fame driver Bob Fields has someone dominated two classes at the famous oval west of New Castle. Enter Cambridge City’s Kevin Claborn.

For the second straight week, Claborn has won both the Motion Motor Late Model and the Dependable Drywall Thunder Car feature events.

In the Late Model feature, Claborn took control on the 13th lap and never looked back. New Castle’s Miles Sexton led the first five laps from his starting spot on the pole. On lap six, Morristown’s Jeff Marcum, who had made repairs to his machine after crashing into the short turn wall in a heat race, took over. He looked like the man to beat as he built a sizable lead over Sexton and the rest of the field.

However, on lap 13, a yellow flag eliminated Marcum’s lead and let Claborn, who had passed Sexton for second place a few laps earlier, line up on the outside of the front row for the double-file restart.

When the green flag flew, Claborn passed Marcum for the lead coming out of the first turn and led the rest of the way. Terry Cater, who started 12th, moved into second on lap 21, but did not have enough time left to reel in Claborn.

The remainder of the field saw Kent Carson of Richmond finish 11th, followed by Dean Morris of New Castle, Ralph Lane of Greensburg, Sexton, Mark Fesmire of Markleville, William Mefford of Knightstown, LJ Lines of Dunreith, Brandon Mefford of Knightstown and Tom Latham of Anderson finished 19th after crashing into the first turn concrete on lap two.

Kevin Claborn set fast time at 16.535, just .029 off the track record, which had been set by Cater on May 24. Cater won the Razzles Dash for Cash, with William Mefford and Sellers winning the heats. Sellers’ win was the first of his career at Mt. Lawn.

New Castle’s Cody Walker led the first lap of the Dependable Drywall Thunder Car feature, giving the lead to Mike Vaccaro on lap two. Rushville’s Bill Clark took the lead on lap three and stayed in front of a dueling David McConnell of Shirley and Kevin Claborn for the next 19 laps.

On lap 21, McConnell shot off the short turn into the runoff area trying to keep Claborn in third. Once McConnell was out of the way, Claborn wasted no time in disposing of Clark and took the lead for good on lap 22. As Claborn crossed the finish line on lap 30, he immediately shut the engine off in his mount. His oil light was on for the final two laps, indicating a potentially serious engine problem.

“I don’t think I could have gone another lap because my oil pressure was just about gone,” Claborn said in victory lane.

Clark finished second followed, by Frankie Oakes of Cambridge City, Jerry Chesher of Centerville, Jameson Owens of Greenfield, Ryan Amonett of New Castle, Cody Walker, Chris Bolyard of Rushville, point leader Pam McConnell of Shirley and Michael Stakes of Greenfield. Claborn set fast time at 18.536, while David McConnell won the Dependable Drywall Dash for Cash. Amonett and Oakes won the heats.

Nick Warner of Anderson returned to Mt. Lawn Saturday night and picked up where he had left off by winning the Collins Auto Service Hornet feature, leading the final 15 laps. Warner made quick work of the traffic from his 17th starting position and moved past previous leaders Jerry Small of Arcadia and Josh White of New Castle. He took the lead on lap 10.

Warner set fast time in trials at 19.750; Morris won the U.S. Auto Group/Collins Auto Service Dash for Cash, with Davis and White winning the heats.

Courtney Hannah dominated Mini Cup action by winning the feature and the heat. In the feature, Carl Colbert finished second, followed by Chuck Colbert and Patrick Morris of Arcadia.

There we no street drag participants.

This weekend Late Models, Thunders and Hornets return to Mt. Lawn for a full program of racing action. In two weeks, Fan Appreciation Night will be on the agenda, with $5 tickets, Big Wheel races, Nickel Scramble, on track autograph/photo sessions and a demonstration by Gizmo, the police dog, with his handler, Mike Vaccaro.